Friday McBush Bashing (Netroots Edition)

I think McCain's 'tell' — the sign he is prevaricating — is when he blinks a lot. Just watch any video on YouTube and judge for yourself. (Hmm. Turns out I'm not the only one to notice this. See, for example, Matthew Yglesias.)

Another issue that could hurt McCain with women: apparently, polling shows John McCain's votes against insurance coverage for birth control have tremendous resonance with women, including independents and Republicans. Thus, this ad from Planned Parenthood:

NY Times, Editorial, There He Goes Again (“Mr. McCain and his advisers must know that his numbers do not add up. But adding up is not their point. Their point is to perpetuate the fantasy that Americans can have ever bigger tax cuts and a balanced federal budget. They cannot.”)

Carpetbagger, So much for the ‘respectful campaign’ (“McCain’s campaign has said Obama should not be “taken at his word,” and his “word cannot be trusted.” McCain was asked directly whether he questioned Obama’s patriotism, and McCain wouldn’t give a straight answer. Today, it seems as if the McCain campaign has kicked things up a notch, arguing that Obama and Democrats want to see the U.S. fail in Iraq in order to benefit politically.”) Cf. Talking Points Memo, McCain Camp: Obama Wants U.S. to Lose in Iraq

The thing about the McCain rape joke is that it isn't just horrible because it's a a joke about a woman liking rape, it's about a woman who is explicitly beaten senseless until she becomes unconscious and raped and she enjoyed the experience.

While we're doing ancient history, how about Crooks & Liars, Flashback: McCain Admits He’s Dumber Than Bush? The serious point here isn't that McCain was a feckless privileged youth, but rather than all these years later he still likes to glory in his anti-intellectualism. Wouldn't it be nice to have another President who thought brains (and facts!) were a good thing?

Huffpo, Reporters Spar With McCain Press Aides Nicolle Wallace, Brooke Buchanan (VIDEO). Now, this is a pretty trivial event, except for two things: first, the journalists who got mad about the McCain campaign's attempt to totally control them were from a FOX affiliate—if even FOX is getting bolshie with a Republican, well, you're doing something odd. Second, these guys were local, experienced, journalists. What odds will you give that the national guys are tamer poodles?